[VHFcontesting] my stratergy

[Zack Widup]

On Wed, 17 Aug 2005, Eric Smith wrote:

> ... one of these days I will bless the bunch
> with the story of how I lost ALL of my rover antennas at
> once at 65 MPH... an hour before the start of the 2003 June
> VHF test one year... something to do with mounting them all
> to a Ham IV rotator...
> Eric
> KB7DQH
> 

OUCH! Did you come up with a better scheme?

In one of the contests last year (June, I think) I was on a hilltop with 
intermittent thunderstorms and high winds.  I had my 50, 144, 222, 432 and 
1296 antennas all on one mast up to about 20 feet. In the afternoon with 
about 6 hours left in the contest the mast fell down.  I had just worked 
W9ICE on all bands but 144 MHz.  My 50, 144 and 1296 antennas were damaged 
and the 432 and 222 antennas weren't.  On the 144 Yagi, half the elements 
were bent up on one side at right angles to the rest.  I was determined to 
work W9ICE, so I sort of threw the mast back up in sort of a standing 
position and pointed his way.  I worked him and called it quits for that 
contest.

Based on a recommendation by K9PW, I made a better mounting system for the 
mast and haven't had that problem reoccur.

73, Zack W9SZ